What visible actions should managers take to support Lean?

Fifth in a series of questions  from the Spanish magazine APD (Asociación para el Progreso Directivo). My answer is as follows and, perhaps, your comments will help me make it better:

I take a “visible action” to be an action in support of Lean implementation that is visible to others, meaning related to appearances.

Being regularly present on the shop floor and asking questions about both routine operations and improvement projects is clearly one such type of action. Lean implementation does not go well with absentee management. Managers must act as a visible incarnation of the company’s concern for what happens on the shop floor, but, while doing so, they must be careful not to get involved in technical discussions in which their positions would give their ideas undue weight, and to respect the authority of the managers directly in charge of the shop.

The managers should wear clothing that does not set them apart from the production teams. Suits and ties are inappropriate where operators wear overalls, because they symbolize distance. If operators wear uniforms, the managers should do too, without visible signs of rank. The message must be “We are on the same team.” There is a hierarchy in the organization to do the work, but it should not carry over to activities that are not strictly work. In this spirit, unless they are entertaining visitors, managers should eat in the same cafeteria as operators, with the side effect that the food and service quality improve. They should also use the same restrooms and forgo reserved parking spaces.

Lean includes activities that require participation by everyone, like 5S or TPM, and managers must ostensibly participate so that no one can claim that these activities are beneath their dignity or that they are too busy. Operators who see the plant manager occasionally participate in the cleaning of a machine will not be reluctant to clean their own work spaces.